News Letter

Scheduling Follow Up Appointments

Quite often we have scheduling problems that have arisen from an unclear understanding of scheduling follow up appointments. When scheduling a follow up appointment in the Sales Calendar, it is imperative that you explicitly state in the comments section:
1.) that it is a follow up call, and
2.) which Product Specialist will be helping you with the call.

Please remember that whoever did the initial walkthrough must be the same Product Specialist who does any subsequent follow-ups; they know what was covered, they have an understanding of your prospect's business and they know what your prospect wants out of their Web site. Bringing on a different Product Specialist may confuse your prospect and ultimately compromise the deal.

Our staff handles literally hundreds of appointments during a typical week, so it can be difficult to keep track of all of the sites and walkthroughs. The Sales Calendar and the Sales Support team are resources intended to help you succeed; please help us in making the most effective use of these tools. If you have any additional questions, please contact Sales Support at (866) 287-8121.

NEW CALIFORNIA TOBACCO LAWS

We recently received a notice from California's Attorney General informing us of two new laws that may affect some of our customer's e-commerce activities. As of January 1st, 2003, a new section was added to the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act that requires any person who distributes or sells tobacco products directly to a consumer in the State of California to comply with certain, specified conditions:

Verify that every purchaser is at least 18 years old by referencing an appropriate database of government records, or by using an "age verification kit"

Accept payment by credit card or check only

Make a telephone call to the purchaser after 5 p.m. to confirm the order of tobacco products prior to shipment

Impose a two-carton minimum on each order of cigarettes

Deliver the tobacco products only to the purchaser's verified billing address on the credit card or check used for the purchase

In addition, a revision to the California Revenue and Taxation Code requires each retail sale of cigarettes in California to be a "vendor-assisted, face-to-face sale" unless specified conditions are met. If the buyer and seller are not within each other's physical presence at the time of the sale, the seller must:
1. Pay all applicable California taxes (excise and sales/use tax) OR
2. Include on the outside of the shipping package, on the same side as the customer's address, a notice that states:

"IF THESE CIGARETTES HAVE BEEN SHIPPED TO YOU FROM A SELLER LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE STATE IN WHICH YOU RESIDE, THE SELLER HAS REPORTED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL LAW THE SALE OF THESE CIGARETTES TO YOUR STATE TAX COLLECTION AGENCY, INCLUDING YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. YOU ARE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL APPLICABLE UNPAID STATE TAXES ON THESE CIGARETTES."

Both of these new laws will be strictly enforced, with violators subject to penalties starting at $1,000-$2,000 for the first offense and increasing to $10,000 for the fifth offense.

If either of these laws may affect you, we suggest you request copies of Assembly Bill 1830 and Senate Bill 1766 from California's Attorney General at http://caag.state.ca.us/contact/index.htm.

16 Reasons to Have a Web Site

Many of your prospects may already know that they need a Web site, but how many of them truly understand all of the ways a Web site will benefit their business? Companies are always looking for cost-effective, turnkey solutions that will increase their profitability without increasing their costs. Here's a list of 16 different ways that our Web site package will make your prospect's business more competitive and efficient.

1.) Levels the playing field between big corporations and small businesses

2.) Exposes your business to new markets you may not otherwise reach

3.) Increases sales without significantly increasing costs

4.) Opens up a virtual storefront that creates an additional sales channel

5.) Offers a great way to promote deals and special offers

6.) Automates the sales process-saves time, money, and improves accuracy

7.) Allows you to provide fast, personalized service to your customers

8.) Lets you answer your customer's questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

9.) Gives more credibility to your business (in a shorter amount of time)

10.) Introduces new products or services to the market faster

11.) Reduces dependency/money spent on traditional media advertising

12.) Gives you an additional, inexpensive form of advertising

13.) Makes your business more competitive-quickly respond to customer's needs

14.) Creates a way to display samples of previous work for prospective customers

15.) Update online documents and manuals without additional printing costs

16.) Enhances communication between you, your prospects, and your customers

There are even more ways that having a Web site will enhance your prospect's business—many of which will be specific to his or her company. Know your prospect's business, know your product, and you will not have any trouble building value in the complete, cost-effective Web site package that we offer!